A Change of Seasons
by Jinxed-Wood
Summary: Raven was seriously beginning to regret volunteering for this damned foraging trip. Who the hell wanted to watch Bellamy and Finn fight a turf war over Clarke's loyalty? (Raven's POV)


Raven sighed as the slush slowly seeped into her boots, numbing her toes and making her shiver as she and Finn tried to move through the muddied undergrowth as silently as they could. They should have seen the campfire by now. Where the hell had Bellamy and Clarke disappeared to?

It was supposed to have been a two day round trip, three days max. But, as usual, things didn't go quite to plan. They'd planned their route to their destination carefully- a petroleum plant ten miles south of what used to be Washington - as they wanted neither of the two most powerful opposing forces in this neck of the woods to know what they were up to.

The shaky truce they'd held with Anya's tribe during the winters months was already beginning to show fault lines. The clan leader wasn't an idiot. The winter months were harsh enough without fighting a war on two fronts and it seemed the mountain men were a seasonal threat. They kept to the higher reaches of the local mountain range during the summer months, but descending into the valleys during the winter, killing all resistance in their path. Anya had made it clear that the Mountain men wouldn't be open to a treaty.

But we all knew Anya would stab us in the back at the first opportunity.

* * *

_**Six Months Beforehand **_

The enemy of my enemy and all that," Finn said wryly, into the silence.

"More like keep you friends close and your enemies closer," Bellamy muttered.

Clarke swallowed a snort of laughter as she shook her head. "Be that as it may, Spring is going to come eventually, so we'd better be prepared," she said aloud.

"For what – war?" Finn said. "How about we concentrate on keeping the truce for the winter and maybe we can build enough trust between us before Spring to broker a true peace. "

As one, Bellamy and Clarke grimaced and Raven felt a spurt of amusement as she remembered how, a few nights earlier, when she and Bellamy had fallen into bed together, Raven had teased him about how he and Clarke were morphing into a twin brains. He had not been been amused and had pouted for the rest of the night.

"She still wants to kill us," Clarke said flatly. "The only reason she's called a truce now is because she's lost her race against the first snowfall. If she really wanted a long term piece, she'd have offered an alliance to pool our resources, not a non aggression pact. She's hoping that the Mountain Men will finish us off before spring and if they don't, she's going to try and take us out after the snow melts."

"So what do you suggest we do, Clarke, start shooting first?" Finn asked. "I thought we were going to try and be better than that."

And Clarke had given him that wary look. The look she always gave him before she gently told him Bellamy and her had already agreed on a plan of action. Raven didn't envy that tightrope she danced, although maybe a part of her relished the fact that Finn didn't see the line between lover and leader, but Clarke did.

Bellamy broke the sudden tension in the air by gesturing at Jasper, who graphically described what would be needed to make gunpowder. Raven wrinkled her nose as the ingredient list. Burned wood to make charcoal, manure and urine to create saltpeter and alcohol as an accelerant. This was going to be fun. Good thing Jasper was on gunpowder duty, not her. She felt obliged to mention that that the resultant gunpowder wouldn't work for bullets, however - too high an ignition point.

"True," Jasper said. "But it's good enough to make rockets and rudimentary bombs. You're right, though, we need to make gunpowder for bullets and for _that_ we'll need sulphur. The last of the natural sulphur mines were tapped out at least a decade before the bomb dropped, so we'll have to manufacture it."

"And for that we're going to need petroleum," Raven had finished for him. "Great, just great. Anyone up for a hike to Texas?"

"I wouldn't start making a Stetson yet," Clarke said, as she produced a survey map. "There was a refinery just south of Washington. It's out of the way and produced kerosene, not gas so-"

"-it wouldn't have been a primary target." Raven grinned. "I'm in – and hey, kerosene! We might be able to make some nitro!"

"Oh joy," Finn muttered under his breath.

* * *

Raven shook her head at the memory. She should have known better than to volunteer. She was officially an idiot. Two days stuck in the middle of the simmering hostility between Bellamy and Finn has her temper at boiling point. She didn't know how Clarke managed it.

"Shit." Finn muttered, as he bent down over a suspect pile of leaves. Traps were not uncommon in the woods. He brushed a few leaves away to reveal a mask that did little to reveal the person's identity.

"Clan or mountain man?" Raven asked, not sure that she wanted to know the answer. She remembered her first glimpse of a mountain man, and it left an indelible mark on her mind. If she had ever wondered what generations of radioactive mutation would do to the human body...well, now she didn't have to wonder anymore. It had taken them a few months to wheedle the full truth out of Anya but eventually they'd gotten a better picture of what had happened on the ground over the last century. Her clan, like most of the lowland clans, were bunker survivors who'd ventured onto the surface a few decades back. The mountain men, however, were the descendants of those less lucky. Severe mutations, high mortality rate, nomadic culture...the only thing they had in their favour were numbers.

"Clan," Finn had murmured, pulling back his vest to reveal his tattoos. "Damn it, these are Anya's clan markings."

"You were right," Raven said. "We _were _being followed."

"If Anya is suspicious, we might be in for more trouble ahead," Finn said.

Raven swallowed dryly, swinging her gun from her shoulder as she jerked her head in the direction of the clearing that should hold their campsite. He nodded in agreement and crept forward, his eyes darting up into the trees as Raven covered his back. Thankfully, the trees in this area were not evergreen, so hiding in the foliage was unlikely... but jumping out of a snow mound was still an option – one of the mountain men's favourite tactics.

At last they reached the clearing, and it became clear why they'd not seen the fire – it had been doused. Raven bit back a groan. Perfect, that meant she'd be shivering in her sodden clothes for at least another few hours.

Raven noticed the bundled bedding a fraction of a moment before Finn did and risked a glance at his face as he took in the sight before him – Bellamy and Clarke huddled together in a makeshift sleeping bag of tent and blankets. The muscles in his jaw tensed and Raven realised he was actually contemplating the thought that they'd slept together.

For a moment, Raven was going to call him an idiot, that Raven had rolled around enough times with Bellamy to know that he liked to look at the goods, and they were both fully clothed, but then the thought of discussing her sex life with Finn gave her pause, especially considering who was involved. For the first time, Raven entertained the idea that it wasn't just a difference in personalities that caused tension between these two - Finn was jealous.

Raven bit back another groan. Why her? Why couldn't it have it been some other idiot that got to play nanny to these idiots?

"Heh," A murmur rose from the blankets and Raven turned to see Clarke smile sleepily at Finn "You're back." She moved to stand up, careful to not disturb Bellamy as she rose.

Finn raised a hand. "No need to get up," he said. "You seem so comfortable.

What?" Understanding crossed her face as she shook off the last dregs of sleep with a small laugh. "Oh, no, we put the fire out when Bellamy caught a grounder scouting out the camp. We're pretty sure he was alone, but we thought it was better to be safe than sorry."

"So you decided to huddle together for warmth," Finn said stiffly and Clarke's eyes narrowed.

"Excuse me?" Clarke said, in that flat tone she usually reserved for banishments and latrine duty. Raven rolled her eyes as she backed away from the two. As if they had time for this.

"Do you need to be excused?" he countered, in what Raven assumed he thought was an appropriate amount of outrage.

"Need I remind you that only one of us has a history of sleeping around on their partner and it isn't me," Clarke said lowly, and the look of hurt on Finn's face made Raven almost feel sorry for him, but then she remembered she'd been the actual girlfriend in that scenario and hardened her heart. She was a single woman now, she'd moved on, and she didn't feel sorry for Finn Collins anymore.

"I'm going to check the perimeter," he said lowly and stalked off. Raven contemplated following him...but no, fuck that shit.

Clarke leaned back against a tree. "That actually came out of my mouth, didn't it?" she said, groaning as she hid her face in her hands. For a second, Raven thought Clarke was talking to her, but then a snort of laughter came from the bedroll.

"Yes, that really did," Bellamy said, his eyes still closed. "Real smooth, princess, real _smooth._

"You're not funny, Bell," she muttered, scowling as he kicked the bedding off and began to stand off. "Why are you getting up?"

He rolled his eyes,"Because none of us are going to get any sleep tonight and you know it. We might as well keep going."

"But Finn has gone off," Clarke said, her eyes searching the dark undergrowth.

"Finn will be back once his brain kicks in again," Bellamy grunted. "Help me with this."

Raven watched with amusement as she stomped across the clearing and glowered at him. "How do I fix this?"

He paused, a solemn expression taking over his face as he contemplated his answer. "Threesome?"

Clarke wrinkled her nose at him as Raven let out a laugh. "Ugh. Be serious, Bellamy! Besides, the idea of a threesome with Finn and you doesn't really do it for me."

"Actually, I was thinking something more along the lines of me, you and Raven," he said, throwing a smirk in her direction. Raven rolled her eyes; he wishes. Clarke thumped him in the shoulder, making him sway, and Raven watched as his hand easily draped across her shoulder, hugging her to him.

Cheer up, Princess, It'll all look better in the morning."

And it was then that Raven saw it. That glimmer of heat that really shouldn't be there. Finn was right after all – oh, not about the them sleeping together, she had been right about that – but Bellamy and Clarke were more than just friends.

They just hadn't figured it out yet.

"All clear," Finn said, stepping back into the clearing, giving Clarke a wary eye. "But I think there was another grounder in the vicinity. I saw tracks heading back the way we came.

"Probably decided to head back to report once he realised we'd killed his partner," Bellamy said, letting his arm casually drop as he reached for the packed bedding and swung it onto his back. "Ready to go?"

Finn nodded, and Clarke tentatively smiled at him. He gave her rueful look and held out his hand, which she took. All patched up... for now. Had it ever been really solid?

Raven guessed she'd never know. Clarke and her had become friends over the winter months but some topics were off limits. Finn was one and her mother was another - and now that she came to think of it, Clarke always changed the subject when she mentioned Bellamy too. She watched as Bellamy led the way and Finn and Clarke followed behind, fingers twisted together. She wondered who was holding on tighter?

Raven shook her head as she brought up the rear, before smirking devilishly. This was going to be _fun._


End file.
